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Robert House
(In-person) (Computer) |level =2 |derived = |actor =René Auberjonois |dialogue =MrHouse.txt (computer) NVCRMrHouse.txt (real) VHDSecuritronHouse.txt (securitron at Legate's camp) |designer =John Gonzalez (script) |edid =NVCRPenthousemaincomputer (computer) |baseid = (computer) (real) |refid = (computer) (real) }} |content2= |content3= |content4= | content5= | content6= | content7= }} Robert Edwin House is the self-styled president, CEO and sole proprietor of the New Vegas Strip in the Mojave Wasteland in the year 2281. House is foremost responsible for founding RobCo Industries and civilizing the New Vegas casino tribes. Background Biography Born on June 25, 2020 (261 years old) to a wealthy Nevada tool magnate, Robert Edwin House was orphaned at an early age when his parents died in a freak accident involving an autogyro and a lightning strike.A tragedy has befallen all mankind Cheated out of his inheritance by his half-brother, Anthony,Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collectors Edition p.305: "'2.06 H&H Tools Factory'' Long before the war, H&H Tools Company provided Nevada and California high-quality robotics equipment. Owned by the half-brother of Robert Edwin House (the founder of RobCo, and—were it not for the 200 year gap—the same man who lives in the Lucky 38 Casino). When their father was killed in an accident, the elder brother swindled Robert out of the family fortune, and assumed control of the company. Robert went on, through his dealings with RobCo and their lucrative contracts, to become one of the wealthiest men on earth. His half-brother meanwhile, became increasingly paranoid, seeking to guard himself against a vengeance that never came, and inflicting all manner of strange HR rules on his workforce. The remains of this factory still stand, surrounded by husk-like remains of North Vegas' industrial area." (Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide Collector's Edition Tour of the Mojave Wasteland) he nevertheless attended the Commonwealth Institute of Technology and later went on to found RobCo Industries in his hometown of Las Vegas at the age of 22. It would soon become one of the most profitable corporations in the world, owing mostly to House's considerable technical genius and business acumen. He used the wealth and power to gain controlling interests in a myriad of other businesses. These included REPCONN Aerospace,The Courier: "REPCONN's history. " Tour guide: " The company really took off when RobCo purchased REPCONN in late 2076 to develop unmanned rockets to explore the solar system." (Tour guide's dialogue) the Lucky 38 Hotel & Casino on Las Vegas Boulevard, and perhaps, most personally, the H&H Tools Company, the family business usurped by his greedy half-brother (although, the factory on the outskirts of Vegas was still under his brother's control in 2077).Lucky 38 VIP keycard But along with his fame came a look into his peculiar personality. A scandal emerged when House was dating a starlet, but only wanted to scan her brain and make her dress in different outfits.The Courier: "Maybe there's a connection. Can you remember anything else about Robert House?" Raul Tejada: "I remember there were some weird stories about him, especially near the end. There was a tell-all in El Periodico de las Aburridas by a starlet House dated. She said they never, um... don't make me spell it out, boss. Anyway, she said all he wanted to do was scan her brain and make her dress up in different outfits." The Courier: "That's sickening." Raul Tejada: "It was quite the scandal, at least in the Latin-American tabloid journalism market." (Raul Tejada's dialogue) A staunch pragmatist by nature, Mr. House would regularly design and run mathematical paradigms based on global political and socioeconomic conditions in an effort to predict future events. By 2065, these projections led him to the inexorable conclusion that the world would be engulfed in a nuclear war within fifteen years.The Courier: "You say that you saved Las Vegas. How?" Robert House: "By 2065 I deemed it a mathematical certainty that an atomic war would devastate the Earth within 15 years. Every projection I ran confirmed it. I knew I couldn't "save the world," nor did I care to. But I could save Vegas, and in the process, perhaps, save mankind. I set to work immediately. I thought I had plenty of time to prepare. As it turned out, I was 20 hours short." (Robert House's dialogue) Worse still, his contacts within the military informed him that seventy-seven Chinese warheads were aimed at his beloved Las Vegas. Armed with this knowledge and his projections, House went to work on a secret plan to ensure the city would survive this apocalypse and that he would live to see the world after the War. He programmed multiple mainframes with satellite links meant to disable the vast majority of the Chinese missiles while in flight, then designed an array of high-powered laser cannons, which he had installed on the roof of the Lucky 38, to deal with any missile his program had missed.The Courier: "What preparations did you make to save Las Vegas?" Robert House: "On the day of the Great War, 77 atomic warheads targeted Las Vegas and its surrounding areas. My networked mainframes were able to predict and force-transmit disarm code subsets to 59 warheads, neutralizing them before impact. Laser cannons mounted on the roof of the Lucky 38 destroyed another 9 warheads. The rest got through, though none hit the city itself. A sub-optimal performance, admittedly. If only the Platinum Chip had arrived a day sooner..." (Robert House's dialogue) To preserve himself, he took equally drastic steps: his body was permanently connected to an extremely sophisticated life support device named a "hibernation chamber"Elijah: "Big Empty's a treasure box, a scientific graveyard of Old World misery. Like the Sierra Madre... there's treasures there, sleeping. Some, awake. The Holorifle, the Saturnite alloy... the hologram technology, hibernation chambers, Securitrons, the collars... even the suits attached to those things stalking the Villa... that's only the surface of what's there." (Elijah's dialogue) to take care of his physiological needs, while his brain was wired directly into his vast information network via an enormous supercomputer.The Courier: "You appear to be a computer, not a man." Robert House: "Don't let the video screens and computer terminals fool you. I'm flesh and blood, not silicon." The Courier: "The lifespan you're claiming is impossible, except for ghouls and super mutants." Robert House: "SUCCEEDED I see you've made a study of the topic. My knowledge of the science of longevity would fill several text books... Perhaps, after a decade or two of economic reconstruction, I can commercialize these technologies and offer to others, such as yourself." The Courier: "How have you stayed alive all this time?" Robert House: "Let's just say it was very... . But I was willing to make the sacrifices longevity entailed, financial and otherwise." (Robert House's dialogue) Essentially, he became a one-of-a-kind humanoid brain bot, with the Lucky 38 and an army of Securitrons serving as his "body." An integral element of his plan was the platinum chip, which in reality was a combination access card and high capacity data storage device, containing a vital OS upgrade for his Securitrons and the laser defense network. The chip was to be delivered in the afternoon of October 23, 2077.The Courier: "Why didn't the Platinum Chip arrive on time?" Robert House: "The Platinum Chip was printed in Sunnyvale, California on October 22nd, 2077 - the day before the Great War. It was to have been delivered by courier the following afternoon... but by then, the world had ended. The Chip contained vital software upgrades, but not just for my Securitrons. Every aspect of the missile defense grid would have been upgraded, too. Given that I had to make do with buggy software, the outcome could have been worse. I nearly died as it was." (Robert House's dialogue) However, about 20 hours before it could be delivered, the Great War happened. The chip was lost and not rediscovered until over 200 years later by some of the multiple scavengers hired by House. Forced to work with an inferior version of the OS, he suffered numerous system crashes and was even forced into a coma by one of the failures before being able to reboot an earlier, stable version that only allowed him to save Las Vegas from 68 out of the 77 warheads, 59 disarmed and 9 destroyed, aimed at the city.The Courier: "How did you nearly die, defending Vegas?" Robert House: "Software glitches set off a cascade of system crashes. I had to take the Lucky 38's reactor offline, lest it melt down. For nearly five years I battled power outages and more system crashes until I finally managed to reboot my data core with an older version of the OS. I spent the next few decades in a veritable coma. But I survived, obviously - and eventually thrived." (Robert House's dialogue)The Courier: "Can you tell me anything about Mr. House?" Raul Tejada: "Just how old do you think I am, boss? Because I can pretty much guarantee I'm older than that. Let me tell you a story from before the Great War: Everybody knew Robert House. He was a genius. A superstar. Founded RobCo at 22, dated Hollywood starlets, the works. They say he saved Las Vegas. I was in Mexico City when the bombs dropped. Even from there, we could see House's defensive rockets shooting down the incoming missiles. Everybody assumed he died in the War. Maybe he did. But his robots are still out there, roaming the Wastes. And now, a Mr. House rules New Vegas." (Raul Tejada's dialogue) But due to using an inferior software, numerous system crashes occurred and the Lucky 38's main reactor had to be shutdown. For five years, House fought power outages and more system crashes until he rebooted his system in an old version of his operating system, but was put in a decades-long coma. Post-war status House regained consciousness in 2138.Fallout: New Vegas Official Game Guide collector's edition Biding his time, he entered the world stage once again in 2274, when Securitrons under his command emerged from the Lucky 38. This action was prompted by the arrival of New California Republic scouts at Hoover Dam. In order to establish his rule, he enlisted the help of tribes living in New Vegas (later known as the Three Families) and rebuilt the city just in time to welcome the arrival of the New California Republic Army's advance forces. In exchange for help with Hoover Dam and permission to use the McCarran Airport as its headquarters, House signed the New Vegas treaty, ensuring cooperation from NCR and, for a time, protecting the Strip from annexation. House resides in the Lucky 38 and is in charge of the Securitrons that roam New Vegas. At some point after emerging from stasis, House won the leadership of Vault 21 in a bet, stripped it of all useful technology, and then planned to permanently seal the Vault away by filling it with cement.Sarah Weintraub: "All right! Please, follow me. We'll head into the vault right away. This bunker protects the entrance to the vault - solid stone outside and thick steel on the inside! Above us there's the control center for this level of the vault's life-support systems, electric grid, radioactive shields and all that jazz. Don't get lost! My vault has many corridors and rooms - although it is no longer symmetrical, after Mr. House threw us out. This is the main game-hall. Here we settled the big disputes among the vault's levels. Chosen representatives gambled against each other here. The winner earned the right to settle the dispute as wished by the collective. We used to have such parties in this diner! A bitch to clean later... but well worth it! This hall leads to our guest rooms. You can use the first room on our left. But no snooping next door! That's my room, always was. Down there is the game room! Each side of the vault had one... but the other is filled with concrete now. Okay, that wraps it up. I'll see you soon!" (Sarah Weintraub's dialogue) At the pleadings of Sarah Weintraub he left the top section of Vault 21 as it used to be, and she converted it into a hotel (all the casino equipment was already there from the vault experiment).The Courier: "What does Mr. House have to do with Vault 21?" Sarah Weintraub: "Mr. House has everything to do with Vault 21. He tried to get us out before he filled it with concrete. I almost went ape! So, we convinced him - okay, Sheldon and I, right? We convinced him to leave the top level mostly intact!" (Sarah Weintraub's dialogue) Health Mr. House is extremely physically decrepit and can only live inside a self-contained life support unit. The Courier has the opportunity to break through his security and see his true form. However, opening his isolation chamber, even for a second, means that Mr. House will not live more than a year due to exposure to outside contaminants.The Courier: "I'll put you back in your tube, good as new." Mr. House: "No... ruined everything... exposed... germs... a year of... life, if... at most..." (Robert House's dialogue)(if the Courier offers to put him back in his chamber after opening it) Personality Mr. House is a very reclusive individual, although this is largely due to his own machinations and health status, forcing himself to be sealed in his own Lucky 38 control room. His inability to allow all his life's work to be ruined by what he sees as the wrath and folly of a jingoistic and increasingly unstable world has cemented, in his mind, the fate of democracy and human civilization itself. His contempt for most post-apocalyptic institutions is a result of what he sees as humanity's inability to learn from its past mistakes, instead putting blind faith in reckless expansionism and excessive warfare to bring back the Old World. Mr. House sees it as his mission to return New Vegas to its former pre-War glory as a crown jewel of technological innovation and the bright neon paradise of business and fortune. Having lived in the Las Vegas Strip prior to the Great War, he was taken in by what he saw as the unstoppable technological progress and an economic boom unimpeded by the problems and unrest that plagued much of pre-War America. His vision of autocracy and disillusionment with democratic society stems from his resentment towards the attitudes and actions of the increasingly desperate and jingoistic pre-War United States, whose decline was precipitated by the failure to adequately research and invest in alternative technologies. His own strategies and decisions are largely based on mathematical calculations, giving him a high sense of confidence and self-importance in carrying out his plans. He sees himself as an autocrat, viewing New Vegas as his rightful property with the various factions in (or trying to gain) control as irrelevant or, at worst, treacherous, referring to the war between the Legion and the NCR as "two snarling dogs fighting over a curve of bone" due to their repeated attempts to take Hoover Dam. He further disparages both groups as nothing more than "regurgitations of the past," drawing parallels between the two as attempts to revive past civilizations rather than offer a palpable future. He derides the NCR as a "society of customers" lead by scheming leaders who wish to take Vegas out from under him, while showing disgust at the Legion's practice of slavery, technophobia and general brutality.The Courier: "In the meantime, you'd rule Vegas as some kind of dictator?" Robert House: "I prefer the term "autocrat." I would rule as a chief executive. I would not answer to a board of directors or any other entity. Nothing to impede progress. If you want to see the fate of democracies, look out the windows." (MrHouse.txt) Failure or unknown variables tend to frustrate him greatly, not so much as the fear of losing power, but with the attitude of an employer having to deal with unfaithful employees. Although ambitious and fairly ruthless, he is not sadistic and takes no pleasure in ordering the extermination of his enemies, merely viewing their deaths or otherwise neutralization as the completion of a contract. He holds little genuine hatred of NCR or even the tribals inhabiting New Vegas, tolerating the existence of those he otherwise sees as no threat or a boon to his tourist economy, even allowing NCR and Legion currency to be used at casinos, and allowing shady business practices as long as they reside within the remit of his contracts. However, he is extremely disapproving of the Brotherhood of Steel, and insists that the Courier eliminate the Mojave chapter, leaving no room for alliances or even negotiation. He takes little interest in monitoring or controlling the lives of others beyond established rules and generally allows the casinos to run themselves, and is largely reliant on the few information networks at his disposal and his Securitron patrols to exert order. He takes great pride in his technical achievements, seeing himself as a visionary and seeing his own life as the embodiment of great leadership. He takes great interest in the Courier, although they share largely a business relationship, he nevertheless sees the Courier as an agent that could successfully aid him in overcoming obstacles normally too much for the average Securitron, entrusting his new employee with a great deal of information and responsibility. If aided in his work, he will eventually begin to see the Courier as more of a lieutenant than a mere employee, even becoming proud of himself for his selection should his takeover be successful. Should he succeed in his plans, he would establish an "autocracy," invest in the Strip's burgeoning tourist economy thus galvanizing his newfound independence and economic growth to embark on a series of grandiose scientific projects, echoing his pre-War business ventures as CEO of RobCo industries.House: "With all that money pouring in? Give me 20 years, and I'll reignite the high technology development sectors. 50 years, and I'll have people in orbit. 100 years, and my colony ships will be heading for the stars, to search for planets unpolluted by the wrath and folly of a bygone generation." House: "I see you've made a study of the topic. My knowledge of the science of longevity would fill several text books... Perhaps, after a decade or two of economic reconstruction, I can commercialize these technologies and offer to others, such as yourself." Relations with other factions Interactions with the player character Interactions overview Quests * The House Always Wins: Mr. House gives the player character the quest, which leads to one of the final quests, All or Nothing. In this case, the player character communicates with House only through the computer terminal in his office. * For the Republic, Part 2, Wild Card: Change in Management, Render Unto Caesar: However, if the player character decides to side with NCR, Caesar or fight for an independent New Vegas, Mr. House has to be killed or disabled. * The Moon Comes Over the Tower: Emily Ortal asks the player character to bug one of House's terminals for important medical information. Other interactions Mr. House plays a major role in the game. The Courier hears a lot about him while traveling, but upon reaching New Vegas they are invited by House, himself, to visit him in the Lucky 38. There, House gives the Courier vital information about Benny and the platinum chip. Also, he allows the Courier and their companions to use the Lucky 38's presidential suite as a safehouse. Mr. House is also extremely interested in the collectible snow globes and he will pay handsomely for each. The snow globes can be given to Jane in exchange for 2,000 caps each. Snow globes found in Sierra Madre (Dead Money), Big MT (Old World Blues), Zion National Park (Honest Hearts) and the Divide (Lonesome Road) will automatically be removed from the player character's inventory and replaced with 2,000 caps (except for snow globe - Sierra Madre Casino, it adds 2,000 Sierra Madre chips.) Once the Courier has sold a snow globe to Jane it is placed on display (on a mantle) in the Lucky 38 presidential suite. However, if the player character kills Mr. House, the snow globes will stay in their inventory and Jane will disappear. Endings Notes * On the shores of Lake Mead, due east of New Vegas, sits the grandiose pre-War House Resort & Country Club, the current site of the NCR's Camp Golf. Due to its name, its past opulence and the presence of a large portrait of Robert Edwin House standing in front of a large bipedal robot in its main dining hall, it may be surmised that Mr. House was a chief financier and patron of the club before the bombs fell. This portrait is reminiscent of a famous photograph of Howard Hughes, who was also an avid golfer. * If Mr. House is disintegrated by an energy weapon, the stasis chamber disintegrates with him. The same event occurs when using a plasma weapon and its signature goo. * From information contained on the terminals in the H&H Tools Factory, it is gleaned that Robert House's half-brother, Anthony, used underhanded means to wrest his inherited share of the family business from him after the death of their father. It is strongly implied that Robert's later, methodical hostile takeover, coupled with McCarthyist paranoia regarding the Communist Chinese, drove Anthony House completely mad. * Mr. House is given the nickname "Not-At-Home" by the Omertas for his tendency to remain ostensibly neutral in Strip affairs. * Upon his death, the quest The House Has Gone Bust! will simultaneously trigger and fail, and the note A tragedy has befallen all mankind will appear in the player character's inventory. * If the player character takes Mr. House out of his stasis chamber, he will ask them why they have ruined his plans and he will react differently depending on what they tell him. If the player character says you did it in the name of the NCR, he will belittle them and call them a "sad, misguided whore." If the player character tells him they are acting on behalf of Caesar, he will be horrified that slavery is humanity's future. If the player character says they did it for Yes Man, he will tell them their "vanity project" is doomed for failure. If the player character says it was "just business," he will retort by saying that they should have worked for him for personal gain. Finally, if the player character says they did it just because they didn't like him, he will call them a fool for letting their feelings about him jeopardize humanity's future. * Robert Edwin House is one of the characters that the player character must eat in order to earn the Meat of Champions perk. * In the G.E.C.K., there is a version of Mr. House as a human before the War, although he has no mustache and his hair is gray, rather than black as it looks on his computer. * House cannot be targeted in V.A.T.S. * Due to his age and method of staying alive, Mr. House actually counts as an abomination for the Abominable challenge. Because he is considered an abomination, shooting him with the flare gun results in the "The abomination panics and flees!" message, but nothing else happens. * The Courier can also attempt to pickpocket Mr. House, but he does not yield any items. * If the player character kills him using the Ranger Takedown with any kind of displacer glove, Mr. House and the stasis chamber will flip over, causing a lag or freeze. * Another portrait of Robert House, similar to the one in the House Resort, is found in Higgs Village in the add-on Old World Blues. It was punctured by several knives, most likely by Doctor 0, who has an intense hatred for House, long before the events of Old World Blues. * When killed, the player character loses Karma, despite House's Neutral Karma. * When talking to him, if one looks at the top left and the top area of the monitor, they will notice two giant fingerprints. The exact same fingerprints are present on the Pip-Boy's screen. This suggests that screen's texture is the same for both, but bigger on House's screen. * If the player character speaks to Ulysses after the end of Lonesome Road, they can tell him if they have killed House. At first he is indifferent and wonders what will happen to Vegas and the Three Families now that House is gone, but soon after he states that it's for the best. * In Fallout 4, approaching Deezer in Covenant while having Deacon as a companion will trigger a dialogue in which Deacon says "Command override. Vocal audio House, Robert. Access core programming." Deacon claims that this is House's personal security override code, and that he won it in a poker game. Notable quotes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | }} Appearances Robert House appears only in Fallout: New Vegas and is mentioned in Fallout 4. Behind the scenes * Mr. House was written by John Gonzalez. * The challenge "A Slave Obeys" requires the player character to kill Mr. House with the 9 iron or Nephi's Golf Driver. This is a reference to the game BioShock, in which the player character beats the game's current antagonist, Andrew Ryan, to death with a 9 iron while he repeats the words "A man chooses, a slave obeys." Both characters were based in part on Howard Hughes. * In casino parlance, "the house" refers generally to the gambler's opponent, the casino itself, as in the idiom "The house always wins." * Mr. House's personality is based on that of Howard Robard Hughes Jr., a reclusive millionaire with strong ties to the real world Las Vegas Strip. * His affinity for snow globes is a reference to another work of fiction, Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, itself based on the life of William Randolph Hearst. A snow globe falls from the hands of the dying Kane in the beginning of the film as he utters the famously cryptic line "Rosebud". **Walt Disney is also an influence on the character, given his use of robots (Disney was instrumental in pioneering animatronic technology during the 1960s) and his longevity (ultimately false rumors of Walt Disney being cryonically frozen or otherwise preserved have pervaded popular culture since his death). Disney was also well-known for sporting the same style of mustache as Hughes/House. * Jane, House's securitron companion, is an allusion to the film star Jane Russell, who was under contract to Howard Hughes and also his lover for a time. * Mr. House had another female programmed securitron named Marilyn (based on Marilyn Monroe) that was cut. However, she appears alongside with Jane in a card from the deck of cards of the collector version. The texture file for her "face" is still in the game's files, and there's a reference to her in the G.E.C.K. Also, after meeting Mr. House, Veronica will say she's "surprised he only had the two robot sex slaves." This was likely meant to reference Jane and the absent Marilyn, but the line was never removed or changed. Bugs * A medicine check of 35, gaining XP each time, can be accessed as many times as you want. * Activating Mr. House fails to start dialogue, rendering him useless (the mainframe). This might be the result of resetting ally status of Securitrons when they are hostile due to a faction error with vault 11 robots. To fix this, enter the following commands into the console: , , , , , . * The dialogue ending "at Fortification Hill" may cause a crash once he's finished talking. * The stasis version of Mr. House will sometimes break, turning invisible. Gallery House.jpg|Portrait of Mr. House standing in front of a large robot, located in the House Resort. Howard_Hughes.jpg|The portrait of Mr. House is similar to this one of Howard Hughes standing in front of an airplane Fallout.Mrhouse.jpg| Prototype version of House's computer screen. MrHouseStasisChamber.png|Mr. House's stasis chamber Mr House in stasis.jpg FNV_Real_Mr_House.png|Mr. House in the flesh MrHouseRealHead.png|Mr. House up close King of Diamonds.jpg|Mr. House's playing card, the King of Diamonds Endscrn_cr21.png| Prototype Mr. House in the games ending. The House Always Wins.png|Mr. House and Vault Boy, as they appear in the achievement/trophy for The House Always Wins Mr house securitron.jpg|Mr. House as a Securitron HouseSecuritron.jpg FoNV Prototype Mr. House.png| Prototype of House seen in the "Fallout New Vegas Developer Diary #4 - Factions" video. References Category:Fallout: New Vegas human characters Category:Old World Blues human characters Category:Old World Blues mentioned-only characters Category:Collector's Edition playing card characters Category:Lucky 38 characters Category:Fallout: New Vegas factions Category:Antagonists Category:RobCo Industries characters Category:Fallout 4 mentioned-only human characters de:Robert House es:Robert House fr:Robert House it:Sig. House ja:Robert House lt:Robert House nl:Robert House pl:Robert House pt:Robert House ru:Мистер Хаус sv:Robert House uk:Містер Хаус zh:豪斯先生